Reflections on Life through poetry, essays and photos

Ten Ways I’d Prefer Not to Die

The remains of the day. After the food was eaten, the wine drunk and the stories told.

I had a little dinner last night for three women who are in my writing group as well as their husbands, one of whom is also a writer. It was a magical evening, starting with a spectacular sunset I was too busy to photograph. We were on my back porch, which empties onto the sand. The ocean is less than twenty steps away, the sun dipping into it like a great teabag, staining a pathway through the rolling waves.

After dinner and a good deal of wine as well as wonderful conversation, including each of us telling the others what we had done to deserve being in this beautiful place with these people, I asked everyone to read a piece they’d written. My friend Linda Crosfield read this piece and gave me permission to share it with you. I’ll put the first five stanzas here, then give you a link to her blog where you can see the last five stanzas. Just scroll down through a few other poems on her blog and you’ll find it:

Ten Ways I’d Prefer Not to Die

i

Not for me Virginia’s stony stridethrough sweet-sipped watersmeant to cool the browslake the thirststreaming veil the cresting waves’white dress—white death

ii

Not for me the sound of my own bonescrunched in some heedless mouthwrapped ‘round my head.Don’t care if it’s protecting youngor its next meallet not that meal be me

iii

No fall from trees or towersno plummet to the groundmy fifteen minute’s famereduced to a couple of lineson page fourteen of some newspaperno one reads any more

iv

No snow-swept hillsno avalanche for meI carry no transceiver

v

No rattler will reduce my flesh to spongeits spring-thaw poison coursing through my veinsthe horror of the strikemaking all that followsthe lesser nightmare

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About lifelessons

My blog, which started out to be about overcoming grief, quickly grew into a blog about celebrating life. I post daily: poems, photographs, essays or stories. I've lived in countries all around the globe but have finally come to rest in Mexico, where I've lived since 2001. My books may be found on Amazon in Kindle and print format, my art in local Ajijic galleries. Hope to see you at my blog.

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7 thoughts on “Ten Ways I’d Prefer Not to Die”

I enjoyed Linda’s poem, all 10 stanzas of it. I like your generous idea of the dinner party & everyone having to express why they’re worthy then using the evening as a springboard to share someone’s work and, hopefully, to inspire. Way to contribute, Judy!